“I am the bread of life,” He said.
Sustenance.
“Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again,” He intoned.
Sustainability.
“Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty,” He declared.
Permanence.
These words confused me, the woman who started dieting at age twelve. I longed for never being hungry, so that I’d lose weight and look good. And let me tell you, summers in the South, I’d have loved not being thirsty again.
That’s all flesh, though. And that’s not what Jesus was talking about, even though He used those terms. He got our attention by talking about hunger and thirst, didn’t He?
Our bodies are incredible machines. All interactive. When there is a lack of a certain nutrient, our brain kicks in a hunger for that food which will provide that nutrient.
For example: if you’ve ever taken a calcium supplement, you may have noticed a sudden craving for chocolate. Why is that? Because your body requires the magnesium found in the chocolate in order to use the calcium you’re pouring into it.
All of us are born with a lack in our lives, something our spiritual self knows we need. Our spiritual self, like the brain calculating the magnesium we need to use the calcium, then causes hunger for that which is lacking to rise up and make itself heard.
Our spirit seeks for rest and peace and joy. It longs for meaning and hope. So, it signals for the search to begin. We’ll feel that hunger and start looking.
The world has all sorts of answers for this search. All manner of shiny pretties that offer what we’re looking for, yet fail in delivery. Our souls hunger for permanent sustenance.
Jesus is that permanent sustenance. He offers Himself as the meaning, the peace, the joy, the rest, and the hope we are craving. Nothing else we encounter comes close to fulfilling the longing inside us, though there are a lot of fakes out there that take the edge off and fool us.
What is it you’re looking for? What is the craving in your soul?
Do you want to feel like you matter?
Do you long for peace, but find it elusive?
Do you crave understanding?
Walk right up to the Savior today. Tell Him you’re tired of being hungry and never being filled. Explain your thirst that you want quenched.
“Come!” He said.
“Believe!” He intoned.
“Hunger and thirst are done.” He declared.
Coffee, Bible, Journal.
